The defense played great, especially Clements, Willis, and Harris. Gore always struggle against the Cards--and did, again. I know it’s the 1st week, but our passing game was pretty much lifeless, for the most part. Smith, at least, should really be hitting Davis with quick drops and also to open up Jackson and Battle.

That defense is mean, man. Every fuckin hit was hard! And Alex finally looked like he got his sh*t together on that final drive... lets hope it carries into the next game. Frank Gore and Alex Smith feed off each other. When one plays great, it usually lifts the play of the other. When one is struggling, they both tend to produce ho-hum numbers.

But, hey, the Niners are batting 1.000, baby! 1-0 ain't nothing to be ashamed of! Plus, I get to rub it in my buddy's face (whose a Raider fan) cause he was talking sh*t the whole time Alex Smith was throwing the ball last night!

P-Willis is going to be this years DeMeco Ryans. He's a tackling machine, he's in on every play. This kid is the Reggie Bush stopping device. He ensures you at least one hit you'll go crazy about each game. This kid is going to be something special.

Our defense was raw as f*ck last night. Our secondary shut down Boldin and Fitzgerald. The pass rush finally got through. It was just a defensive dominated game. If you said that was going to happen before the game, I would've died laughing. I didn't believe our defense was THAT upgraded.

Offense: C. They have the tools to be a playoof team if they could get some decent playcalling out there. No more handoffs up the middle every time. I'm sick of seeing a playaction not develop because our recievers are too slow to make something happen. Take Arnez Battle out on a reverse pass, Michael Robinson on a half-back pass, screens to Vernon Davis, hell, just hand the ball off the Vernon if you need to, but they need to get him more involved that two catches for 4 yards....

Defense: B+. Our secondary just shut down the best recieving core in the league, and they looked sick. Walt Harris played great, and Nate Clements just shut his man down every time. Shawntae Spencer needs to stay on his man. He is always getting burned, but it's okay because he's a nickelback. Patrick Willis is a sick player, and is going to be an awesome player in the league. Enough said. I would give us an A if we could get some god damn pass rush on a guy. Blitz some linebackers. Brandon Moore, Manny Lawson, and Patrick Willis all are fast linebackers that can blitz... Use them.

Special Teams: C. Andy Lee had some pretty bad punts, and the fumble on the first play of the game by Maurice Hicks was ugly. "Super Joe" Nedney, another great game.

Bottom Line: More creativity on offense, some pass rush, and holding onto the ball, and we should be pretty darn good this year.

Man, the niners offense was just terrible. Both teams QB play was sub par to say the least. Barely NFL caliber.

I did think the Niners D was pretty impressive and aggressive. The rookie MLB appears to be a stud but I think coaches and RB's will see from the tape that is he REALLY suseptible to over pursuit. Good RB's will cut back on him. But that is what being a rookie is.. he will learn but he has all the tools to be the next great LB in this league.

If people start dancing in the backfield trying to get away from him, that is where a guy like Derek Smith comes in.... a solid wrapup tackler that can consistantly get you down. I love our linebackers, but Tully Banta-Cane seemed next to useless yesterday... I didnt hear his name once.

Well, yeah, now that defenses know about Frank Gore, they will try and stop him more, but saying that his best years are over now because he is known by a defense is absurd. You never do know what players will become. That would be like me saying, "Oh, LT is good, and teams know about him. He is going to suck this year." Come, on.. You also need to remember that Frank Gore hasnt even developed. He is only, what, 24? He still has another year to develop, then unleash havoc on the league. Running backs to deteriorate quickly, but saying that a guy is done at 24....

Frank Gore knows that he has a sign on his back that says come after me. He takes it as a challenge.

Alex Smith does have a high ceiling. He was the first overall pick for christs sake... No one is expecting him to be a Joe Montana, but I am expecting him to turn out pretty good. It was a pretty weak draft class that year, and there wasnt really a whole lot of choices in who we could take, and I am behind Alex 100%. I mean, Alex is the youngest starting QB in the league. He still has another two years before he develops, and he could turn out to be good. This is the year that he has to prove himself though.

This year, I expect 1500 rushing yards with 15 TD's for Frank Gore.
I expect 3000 yards passing from Alex Smith, and I expect Vernon Davis to get something like 60 catches, 12 YPC, and 7 TD's. I like our young team, and you throw in some vets, and you got a contending team.

slicksteven wrote:i think gore's overrated and last season was a fluke, he's probably not gonna avg that many yards per carry now that opposing defenses know to focus on him

i really dont know what to expect of this team. alex smith has grown at a pretty slow pace and his ceiling's not that high, whereas gore probably had one of his best seasons over with already

so i dunno, hopefully i can be proven wrong, and a smith will show skill and poise this year while gore continues his success

vernon davis for 4 yds, lol that made me chuckle

Gore's not overrated. And of course he won't average what he did last year now that defenses are more focused on him. This is why Alex must develop a consistent passing game with strong chemistry between him and his receivers or else Gore's going to get eaten up every time he touches the ball.

But to me, it was all on the o-line last night. Our offense had no blocking whatsoever. There was some, during key plays... but other than that, there was none.